Building a flourishing business requires more than just a passion for your industry, it involves hard work, avid business skills and severe dedication – but the passion is what makes it worth it. Joanne Neylon started Joanne Green Landscape Design with little more than a ute, some gardening tools and her ideas. She now runs a successful lifestyle business with 14 full time staff members that work between four different services, it’s hard not to be impressed.
Joanne has been somewhat of a pioneer since the beginning; she was among the first group of women to attend Hawkesbury Agriculture College. Studying a Diploma in Applied Science Agriculture, then later went on to a Diploma of Education from Sydney’s Teachers College. After two years of teaching Joanne decided it was time to ‘give landscaping a go’. Because of her age, her lack of experience and to be honest, being a female, she had trouble finding someone who would take her on board. So in 1981, Joanne had no other option but to start her own business, thus Joanne Green Landscape Design Pty Ltd was born.
To say it was a male dominated industry, is putting it lightly. Joanne was one of the first females to make a name for herself in the landscaping business, and was the first female ever to be accepted as a member into The Landscape Association of NSW. Due to her design finesse and natural business instinct, Joanne Green Landscape Design Pty Ltd was a huge success.
The business took off faster then Joanne could have ever imagined, with a two-person team quickly expanding to a staff of five. In 2013 the company expanded to include an interior arm to the business.
These days Joanne Green Landscape and Interior’s brand is synonymous with beauty, detail and functional design.
Name: Joanne Neylon
Job title: Director and Landscape Designer
What is your favourite season? Autumn, because this is the best time to be outdoors and enjoying our beautiful environment.
What is your favourite plant? At the moment, it’s Arbutus unedo or the Irish Strawberry tree, because it has really beautiful flowers in Autumn that look like Lily of the Valley. And the tree is pretty gorgeous as well. If I was writing this in summer of course I would be saying something entirely different, that’s what happens when you are a closet plant addict.
What is your favourite Joanne Green project? It would have to be the garden we installed at Longueville. Lovely garden and spaces. Some new and some existing that have combined to work well together. To view this project click here.
What is your favourite garden style? Relaxed Sydney style, where the outdoors and indoors work in tune with each other.
If you weren’t Managing Director of Joanne Green what would you be? I would be a farmer growing specialist fruit, veggies and cut flowers; or being a professional ski bum (my skiing would have to improve for this).